Justin Timberlake Rules Billboard Artist 100 Chart for First Time

Justin Timberlake jumps 12-1 on the Billboard Artist 100 chart (dated Feb. 17) to become the top musical act in the U.S. for the first time, powered by the release of his latest studio album, Man of the Woods.

The Artist 100, which launched in July 2014 (nearly a year after Timberlake’s previous album, The 20/20 Experience), measures artist activity across key metrics of music consumption, blending album and track sales, radio airplay, streaming and social media fan interaction to provide a weekly multi-dimensional ranking of artist popularity.

Man of the Woods debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 293,000 equivalent album units in the week ending Feb. 8, according to Nielsen Music, scoring him his fourth straight, and total, No. 1. Also aiding his profile in the tracking week was his Super Bowl LII halftime show performance on Feb. 4. Album sales contribute the majority of Timberlake’s Artist 100 points (74 percent), followed by digital song sales (14 percent).

Timberlake had hit a prior No. 5 Artist 100 high on May 28, 2016, when his Trolls smash hit “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” launched as his fifth No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100.

Rounding out the Artist 100’s top five are Ed Sheeran, Bruno Mars and Drake hold at Nos. 2, 3 and 4, respectively, and Migos drop 1-5.

Elsewhere on the chart, Montgomery Gentry re-enters at a new peak at No. 54, powered by new album Here’s to You, the first set released since the death of the duo’s Troy Gentry on Sept. 8, 2017. The LP arrives at No. 3 on Top Country Albums and No. 32 on the Billboard 200 with 14,000 units.

Plus, Prince appears on the Artist 100, at No. 71, for the first time since August, thanks to gains for his catalog after Timberlake’s Super Bowl set, which featured a tribute to the late star by singing “I Would Die 4 U”, with pre-recorded video of Prince projected on a screen behind him. Prince led the Artist 100 for two weeks after his death on April 21, 2016.

Billboard